Page 679 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 5 July 1989
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is talking about is a huge number of problems not only of a legal nature but also of a social and an economic nature, affecting all types of things in the community. This Bill has much, much more limited effect. They are two totally different questions.
MR BERRY (Minister for Community Services and Health) (11.27): Mr Speaker, I rise to oppose this matter being referred to the committee and to raise some issues which concern me in relation to the matter. I think the Assembly needs to recall the history of this legislation which is the subject of concern and the reason that it came before the ACT electorate.
Quite clearly in the pre-election period the Liberals sought to use police powers as another cheap, vote grabbing mechanism which is commonplace amongst conservative governments - the sorts of tactics that were used by Joh Bjelke-Petersen in Queensland to frighten the community into voting for conservative parties.
Since the election I think the Residents Rally has seen a few votes in it and has decided to support the Liberals on the issue. It is a piece of legislation which is at best archaic and, even with all of the amendments, focuses all of the attention on the youth and the disadvantaged. I think, at this point in time, and after yesterday's demonstration, the Residents Rally party members have cold feet; the tactics are falling apart. Suddenly they have found that elements in the community are opposed to what they are up to.
Mr Moore: That is why we are going ahead with it.
MR BERRY: Indeed, and I would expect the Residents Rally to do that - to go ahead with something that the community opposes, because it does not represent the community; it is not a community party. I think what needs to be emphasised here is it is clearly a cheap, vote grabbing, headline grabbing mechanism which really has nothing to do with helping our youth or helping the community; it is about headlines.
Mr Moore: They are not mutually exclusive.
MR BERRY: I say to you that they are in this case. I think it was demonstrated yesterday by the crowd of Canberrans who gathered out the front that it is just not acceptable. With the first draft of the legislation that Mr Stefaniak put up that crowd could have been moved on, too.
But I think he saw the error of his ways there and was convinced in some way by the Residents Rally that it was not a goer for electoral reasons. In any event, as we heard on the radio this morning - Mr Collaery gave some advice on legal matters to the interviewer - all of the speakers were opposed - - -
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